The disclosure relates to flame retardant additive compositions. In particular, the invention relates to flame retardant additive compositions useful in a variety of thermoplastics.
A wide variety of applications require flame retardant thermoplastic compositions. In addition to being flame retardant, the thermoplastic compositions must often meet a range of criteria ranging from physical performance to appearance to environmental impact. In recent years there has been an increasing trend to employ phosphates as the flame retardant in order to meet many or all of these criteria. While the use of phosphates has been successful in many instances, highly flammable compositions have continued to be problematic. Highly flammable thermoplastic compositions frequently require high levels of phosphate flame retardants to obtain the desired level of flame retardancy but high levels of phosphate flame retardants can result in objectionable physical properties such as plate-out and migration. Plate out and migration refer to the movement of solid and liquid component to the surface of the article as evidenced in some cases by a powdery or tacky feel to the surface. Other flame retardants such as magnesium hydroxide and aluminum trihydrate are known but at high levels frequently have a negative impact on physical properties.
Accordingly there remains a need in the art for a flame retardant composition that provides excellent flame retardance to thermoplastic compositions and has little or no negative impact on the physical properties of the thermoplastic composition.